User:Gerda Arendt/Images 2020



Did you know ...

... that Beethoven's Third Cello Sonata, first performed in 1809, has been described as the first sonata for piano and cello to treat the instruments as equal partners?

... that when Johannes Chum, a tenor in operatic roles from Nerone to Lohengrin, performed in Harnoncourt's recording of Beethoven's Missa solemnis, a reviewer described his singing as "seraphic"? Best wishes for 2020, - let's make it a year of illumination, enlightenment and vision!



Did you know ...

... that Ave Maria, an obscure piece for two men's choirs by Franz Biebl published in 1964, became a choral standard after Chanticleer made it part of their holiday programs?

(1 January 2020 · listen to Chanticleer, 2015)

... that John Rutter wrote the text and music for Angels' Carol, a choral piece for Christmas, using the Latin "Gloria in excelsis Deo" as a refrain?

(24 December 2019 · listen to us, 2019)

Let's be thankful for 2019, a year of thanks.

Calendar 2020
 2019 was another green year

Advent · expectation


Did you know ...

... that the German Advent song "Tochter Zion, freue dich" has words by Friedrich Heinrich Ranke set to music used for triumphant entrances in two of Handel's oratorios?

... that a verse from Psalm 85 inspired artworks depicting the kiss of Justice and Peace?

... that Dixit Maria, a motet in Latin by Hans Leo Hassler, sets to music the narrative of Mary's consent to the Annunciation?

... that one of the versions of Vivaldi's Magnificat included five arias to be performed by girl soloists from the Ospedale della Pietà, who were named in the score?

... that the hymn "Nun lässest du, o Herr", written by Georg Thurmair as a paraphrase of the Nunc dimittis, appeared with a 16th-century melody in the first Gotteslob, but with a new one in the second?

... that Ave Maria, an obscure piece for two men's choirs by Franz Biebl published in 1964, became famous when the Chanticleer made it part of their holiday programs?

January


Did you know ...

... that the Figuralchor Frankfurt, founded in 1966 as a youth choir for the state broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk, sang Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand at the opening of the Alte Oper?

... that the hymn "Gott, der du warst und bist und bleibst" was composed for the opening of the Sankt Georgen seminary church in Frankfurt? (11 January 2020)

... that American coloratura soprano Laura Aikin who began her opera career in Berlin, appeared as Marie in Zimmermann's Die Soldaten at the 2012 Salzburg Festival?

... that "Wir pflügen und wir streuen" by Matthias Claudius, began as a song of a fictional harvest festival, and is now a Protestant hymn for Erntedankfest?

Beethoven 1


Did you know ...

... that "Die Himmel rühmen!" ('The heavens praise'), which begins a song from an 1803 lieder collection by Beethoven setting Gellert's paraphrase of Psalm 19, became the title of a concert series by a pop singer?

Did you know ...

... that in his 1831 chorale cantata Verleih uns Frieden, Mendelssohn set Luther's German prayer for peace to a new melody?

... that O salutaris hostia (O saving victim), a setting of a Eucharistic hymn for mixed choir by Vytautas Miškinis, was performed in Brussels when Lithuania held the EU presidency?

... that Three Latin Motets (Beati), Charles Villiers Stanford's only church music not in English, was dedicated to Alan Gray, who succeeded him as organist at Trinity College, Cambridge, and the college's choir?

... that Henry Purcell (pictured) composed basically two settings of Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts, a complex one early, and a simple one for the burial of Queen Mary?

March
good plans but cancelled

Passion
Passion in Paintings from Unionskirche, Idstein



Fußwaschung Did you know ...

... that in a motet for Maundy Thursday, Tristis est anima mea, Jesus says in Gethsemane "Sad is my soul even unto death"?

... that in his 1960 Quatre Motets sur des thèmes grégoriens, Maurice Duruflé "shows his particular genius for invoking the spiritual element of plainsong in a polyphonic context"?



Ecce homo

... that Bach used stanzas of the 1533 hymn "In dich hab ich gehoffet, Herr", a paraphrase of Psalm 31, as chorales in three vocal works, including in the St Matthew Passion?

... that the soprano Jo Vincent appeared in Willem Mengelberg's 1939 recording of Bach's St Matthew Passion, and in the world premiere of Britten's Spring Symphony in 1949? 

Did you know ...

... that according to Luke the Evangelist, the last words of Jesus on the cross came from Psalm 31?

(10 April 2020)

... that 2019 concerts in the 19th-century Bergkirche in Wiesbaden included Pärt's Passio and Handel's Messiah?

(more)



Did you know ...

... that on Good Friday 2020, Benedikt Kristjánsson sang all roles in a chamber arrangement of Bach's St John Passion, broadcast live from the composer's burial place?

... that three of the 34 stanzas of "Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod", a Passion hymn by Paul Stockmann, were included in Bach's St John Passion?

Easter
good plans, but cancelled



Did you know ...

... that I Will Mention the Loving-kindnesses is an 1875 Easter anthem by Arthur Sullivan for solo tenor, mixed choir, and organ, setting a passage from the Book of Isaiah?

... that Krzysztof Penderecki inserted at the end of his Credo, from Psalm 118, "Haec dies, quam fecit Dominus ..." (This is the day, which the Lord has made: Let us rejoice and be glad in it.)?

(more)

in memoriam


Did you know ...

... that Dmitri Smirnov (pictured) composed the Triple Concerto No. 2 for the centenary concert of the London Symphony Orchestra, with the principal violinist, harpist, and double bassist as soloists? 

Did you know ...

... that Erhard Egidi (23 April 1929 – 8 September 2014) conducted at the Neustädter Kirche both the first performance after more than 300 years of a funeral music by the church's first organist and Bach's Mass in B minor?

(25 May 2013)

... that Le Concert Spirituel played Handel's open-air music at the Proms with an ensemble that comprised 18 oboes, 9 trumpets, 9 trombones, and strings?

(listen if you think uplifting music would be good for you)

May
good plan, but cancelled 31 Pentecost - Chor von St. Bonifatius + Wiesbadener Knabenchor (60th anniversary) - Schubert: Mass in E-flat major



Did you know ...

... that several hymns for Pentecost in different languages are based on the 9th-century Veni Creator Spiritus?

(31 May 2020, Pentecost)

June
good plans but cancelled 7 Kirchweih - St. Martin - Colin Mawby: Halleluja / Rheingau Musik Festival, also July and August

Places and songs
I asked my friends to tell me a location where they would like to sing a song with me. Mine is first. For all but two so far, the images are placeholders, more or less similar to what I received, sometimes rather showing the mood than the location. When you read this, feel free to add one ;) - The small dates for the places indicate that I took the image. The small dates for the songs indicate when we actually sang the songs (first). 5 and 12 July are church dates, which covered five of them, be it mind-reading or a look here ;)

Anna and Bernhard Blume


Did you know ...

... that the art photographers Anna and Bernhard Blume created Kitchen Frenzy and Pure Reason?

... that in 1968, the German artist Bazon Brock created a sign in the style of a high voltage warning saying that "death must be abolished ..."?

July
back to singing in church at St. Martin, Idstein

August


Did you know ...

... that Rhythm Is It! is a 2004 documentary film about 250 public school students trained by Royston Maldoom to dance Stravinsky's Le Sacre du printemps with the Berlin Philharmonic?

(31 August 2020)

trailer

September
<div style="margin: auto; max-width: 50em; box-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.5em rgba( 192, 192, 192, 0.75 ); border-radius: 1em; border: 1px solid #a7d7f9; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0.5em 1em 1em; color: black;" class="ui-helper-clearfix">

Did you know ...

... that Franz Leuninger, a Catholic trade unionist in Silesia who ran against the Nazis for election to the Reichstag in 1933, was executed in March 1945?

(16 September 2020)

... that Felix Mendelssohn subtitled Sechs Lieder, Op. 59, six songs for four voices setting poems by Eichendorff and others, "Im Freien zu singen"?

(17 September 2020) <div style="margin: auto; max-width: 42em; box-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.5em rgba( 192, 192, 192, 0.75 ); border-radius: 1em; border: 1px solid #a7d7f9; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0.5em 1em 1em; color: black;" class="ui-helper-clearfix">

Did you know ...

... that Nerotalanlagen, a park along a creek in Wiesbaden, was built in the late 19th century to enhance the town's spa quality?

(26 September 2020)

good plans but cancelled:

26 - Concert - Chor St. Martin + Idsteiner Kantorei + Zwijndrecht Korale - St. Martin - Martín Palmeri: Misatango + Peter Reulein: Te Deum

27 - same

October
<div style="margin: auto; max-width: 44em; box-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.5em rgba( 192, 192, 192, 0.75 ); border-radius: 1em; border: 1px solid #a7d7f9; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0.5em 1em 1em; color: black;" class="ui-helper-clearfix">

Did you know ...

... that Louis Vierne (pictured) completed his Third Organ Symphony during a summer vacation with the family of Marcel Dupré, who played the world premiere in Paris in 1912?

(8 October 2020)

... that "Einer ist unser Leben", a hymn with text written by Lothar Zenetti in 1973, was recommended for a regional ecumenical service in 2020? <div style="margin: auto; max-width: 44em; box-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.5em rgba( 192, 192, 192, 0.75 ); border-radius: 1em; border: 1px solid #a7d7f9; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0.5em 1em 1em; color: black;" class="ui-helper-clearfix">

Did you know ...

... that conductor Eugen Szenkar, who promoted works by Béla Bartók and Gustav Mahler in Germany, Russia, and Brazil, caused a "near riot" with the world premiere of The Miraculous Mandarin?

(16 October 2020) <div style="margin: auto; max-width: 44em; box-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.5em rgba( 192, 192, 192, 0.75 ); border-radius: 1em; border: 1px solid #a7d7f9; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0.5em 1em 1em; color: black;" class="ui-helper-clearfix">

Did you know ...

... that Katrin Lea Tag, named the 2020 Scenic Designer of the Year, created sets and costumes, for Die Schutzbefohlenen at the Burgtheater (pictured), and for Barrie Kosky's Salome at Oper Frankfurt?

look

good plans, but cancelled

3 - Concert - St. Bonifatius - Johannes Brahms: Schicksalslied · Joachim Raff: De profundis

24 - Concert - Reger-Chor - St. Bonifatius - Bach: O ewiges Feuer, BWV 34/1 · Duruflé: Requiem · Van Nuffel: In Convertendo + Bach: Bleib bei uns, BWV 6/1

31 - Brugge Cathedral - same

November
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Did you know ...

... that Variations for Cello Solo, premiered by the composer Graham Waterhouse in Vienna in 2020, depicts characteristics of members of his family?

(7 November 2020 · #1500 · memories)

... that "All Praise and Glad Thanksgiving" is sung to the hymn tune of "Gott Vater, sei gepriesen"?

unite what is divided ... give wisdom to our leaders ... give peace to our world

<div style="margin: auto; max-width: 35em; box-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.5em rgba( 192, 192, 192, 0.75 ); border-radius: 1em; border: 1px solid #a7d7f9; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0.5em 1em 1em; color: black;" class="ui-helper-clearfix">

Did you know ...

... that Benjamin Britten (pictured) composed Children's Crusade, with text by Bertolt Brecht, as a piece to be performed by children about a group of children in wartime Poland?

<div style="margin: auto; max-width: 35em; box-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.5em rgba( 192, 192, 192, 0.75 ); border-radius: 1em; border: 1px solid #a7d7f9; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0.5em 1em 1em; color: black;" class="ui-helper-clearfix"> Did you know ...

... that the Advent song "Kündet allen in der Not", an appeal to those in need to take courage, was written by Friedrich Dörr, based on Isaiah's prophecy?

... that in For the beauty of the earth, a 1978 anthem for choir and orchestra, John Rutter gave a 19th-century hymn text a new melody, marking it to be sung "Happily"? good plans but cancelled

13 Abendlob for Advent - St. Martin

Beethoven 2
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Did you know ...

... that Beethoven's Third Cello Sonata, first performed in 1809, has been described as the first sonata for piano and cello to treat the instruments as equal partners?

... that Gustav Classens, music director in Bonn from 1933, performed Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, Missa solemnis, and Ninth Symphony during his first two seasons, offering the Ninth in both?

... that Christian Schreiber, a church administrator, philosopher and poet, wrote a German version of the Latin Mass for the publication of Beethoven's Mass in C major?

... that when Johannes Chum, a tenor in operatic roles from Nerone to Lohengrin, performed in Harnoncourt's recording of Beethoven's Missa solemnis, a reviewer described his singing as "seraphic"?

(16 December 2020)

<div style="margin: auto; max-width: 42em; box-shadow: 0.1em 0.1em 0.5em rgba( 192, 192, 192, 0.75 ); border-radius: 1em; border: 1px solid #a7d7f9; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0.5em 1em 1em; color: black;" class="ui-helper-clearfix"> Advent 2020 · take courage

Did you know ...

... that in Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, a cantata in eleven movements for Advent, Georg Böhm set all eight stanzas of Luther's hymn, and all differently?

(20 December 2020 · #1530)

... that "Mit Ernst, o Menschenkinder", a 1642 Advent hymn, includes a call to penitence that John the Baptist took from the prophet Isaiah?

... that the Advent song "Kündet allen in der Not", an appeal to those in need to take courage, was written by Friedrich Dörr, based on Isaiah's prophecy?

... that "Macht weit die Pforten in der Welt", written for the Basel Mission, was included with a new melody in Kirchenlied to proclaim Christ the King in opposition to the Nazi regime?

good plans but cancelled

24 Christmas Eve - St. Martin

25  Christmas Day - St. Bonifatius